Editing Snowball effect

{{Short description|Metaphorical term for a process that builds upon itself}}
{{About|the figurative concept|other uses}}
{{More references|date=December 2009}}
A '''snowball effect'''<ref>{{cite web|last1=Dictionary|first1=Cambridge|title=A snowball effect|url=https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/a-snowball-effect|accessdate=23 March 2018}}</ref> is a process that starts from an initial state of small significance and builds upon itself (an [[exacerbating feedback]]), becoming larger (graver, more serious), and also perhaps potentially more dangerous or disastrous (a [[vicious circle]]), though it might be beneficial instead (a [[virtuous circle]]). This is a [[cliché]] in [[cartoon]]s and modern [[theatre|theatrics]], and it is also used in [[psychology]]. 

[[File:Happy New Year, from the New Years 1890 series (N227) issued by Kinney Bros. MET DPB874630.jpg|thumb|A snowball being rolled down a hill, with a dangerous outcome]]
The common analogy is with the rolling of a [[snowball]] down a snow-covered hillside. As it rolls the ball will pick up more snow, gaining more mass and surface area, and picking up even more snow and momentum as it rolls along.

In [[aerospace engineering]], it is used to describe the multiplication effect in an original weight saving. A reduction in the weight of the fuselage will require less lift, meaning the wings can be smaller. Hence less thrust is required and therefore smaller engines, resulting in a greater weight saving than the original reduction. This iteration can be repeated several times, although the decrease in weight gives [[diminishing returns]].

The startup process of a feedback [[electronic oscillator]], when power to the circuit is switched on, is a technical application of the snowball effect. Electronic noise is amplified by the oscillator circuit and returned to its input filtered to contain primarily the selected (desired) frequency, gradually getting stronger in each cycle, until a steady-state oscillation is established, when the circuit parameters satisfy the [[Barkhausen stability criterion]].

==See also==
{{columns-list|colwidth=20em|
*[[Austrian business cycle theory]], particularly the government policy error of further credit expansion
*[[Butterfly effect]]
*[[Chain reaction]]
*[[Clapotis]]
*[[Domino effect]]
*''[[Katamari Damacy]]'', a video game based on the snowball effect
*[[Matthew effect]]
*[[Positive feedback]]
*[[Preferential attachment]]
*''[[The Road to Serfdom]]''
*[[game mechanics|Runaway-leader syndrome]] in [[game balance|unbalanced]] games
*[[Self-fulfilling prophecy]]
*[[Slippery slope]]
*[[Snowball sampling]]
*[[Streisand effect]]
*[[Tyranny of small decisions]]
*[[Wealth concentration]]
}}

==References==
<references />

{{DEFAULTSORT:Snowball Effect}}
[[Category:Metaphors referring to objects]]